Thursday, August 10, 2006

Alright, so I went to see Dontrelle Willis and the Florida Marlins play the Nationals last night. I committed two deadly sports fan sins. One, I showed up late, and two, I left early. I was late to the game because I was determined to get a fresh cut and proper removal of my beard. I couldn't bear to go even another hour looking like that. The end result was that I showed up to the game in the second inning, and Dontrelle and the Marlins were already down 2-1. Dontrelle did not have his best "stuff" last night despite striking out 6 batters, and he was removed in the sixth inning..and I left shortly thereafter. I would never show up late or leave early for any other sporting event, but on this night I felt differently. I feel like I have sold out as a sports fan. But I simply didn't care to look at two non-playoff teams duke it out in the late innings.
Other observations... I noticed that folks drink beer at baseball games the way Doughboy drank malt liquor in Boyz N the Hood. There is no possible way to monitor who has and has not exceeded their limit; as a result, the fans around me were yelling all kind of fragments, non-sequitors, and insults to the Florida Marlins and any National who made a mistake. I was bracing myself to hear an insult about Dontrelle, but it never came.

There were also two older black men sitting about two rows in front of me taking the game in, and for some reason that made me smile. They didn't do a whole of talking, they just sat there watching the game. Occasionally they'd point at something on the field, or one would tap the other in an effort to point out something on the big screen. Part of me wanted to go down to where they were sitting and interview them, to get their story. I wanted to know who their childhood baseball heroes were, did they ever see a Negro league game, did they see Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron or even Frank Robinson play. And if they did what kind of thoughts run thru their head when they see Dontrelle Willis pitch during this modern era. But of course I did nothing but keep all these thoughts in my head. The reality is if I had gone up to them, they may have shunned me. Of course I'll never know..that's the difference between a blog entry talking about what I should have done, and a meaningful story of two old black men at a baseball game, that is ready to be submitted to a major publication.

I listened to a friend of mine talk about her relationship issues, and it made me realize what a supreme ass I have been in the past with women. The downside of me having female friends is that I see up and close and personal the effect my negative actions may have had. Of course the positive side of that is that the advice I give is much more on point. Not to mention I can shed some light on the male mind state. At some point I am supposed to take all of my past mistakes, my convos with female friends, my dad, male friends, etc..and parlay(I hate that word..I'm violating my own personal constitution by using it, but it fits here)that into a successful relationship. Easier said than done though

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Use your mojo and know how for good young anakin...

Anonymous said...

For the past few days I must say I like this style of writing. Hope you dont mind me grading you, hahaha